We're Not Broken, Just Bent
by ICanHearPokemon'sVoices
Summary: The SCIB investigates homicides, kidnappings, and drug busts. The members of the squad each have their own pasts that they would like to forget. Their pasts have changed them, both for better or worse, but none of them are broken because of them. They could be mended and fixed with the right time and company. They weren't broken, only bent. JoshNeku. ShoKariya. AU.


Ch.1- When Neku met Joshua

**Umm, hi guys xD New story if you can't tell and my first TWEWY one! :D So please be nice.**

**This is a ShoKariya and JoshNeku. :3**

**So this is about 3,500 words without this author's note xD Possibly the most I've had in a chapter. But don't expect that every chapter.**

**Anyway, I don't own TWEWY. ):**

**Please Read and Review. :)**

* * *

Neku Sakuraba was jolted awake when he heard a desperate scream.

He lay still, blue eyes gazing at the ceiling above him without really seeing it. A few seconds later, after his body had relaxed and racing heart had calmed somewhat, Neku sat up, raking a hand through his spiky orange hair which refused to be tamed.

The scream had just been another nightmare; if it had been him, Neku was certain Shiki would have come crashing into the room to see what the matter was.

The lanky twenty-two-year-old glanced at the clock sitting on the nightstand beside his bed to see what time it was.

6:10 A.M.

Forty minutes before he had to depart for work.

With a groan, Neku stretched his arms above his head, arching his back a bit with a slight yawn.

He could hear faint clinking in the distance and smelled the eggs and bacon even though his closed door; Shiki was awake.

_She must have plans with Eri today, _Neku thought as he swung his legs out from under the covers, sitting on the edge of the mattress in just his grey boxers. _Probably shopping again._

He sat there a few more seconds, not really having enough energy to stand up, before he finally rose to his feet and grabbed the purple headphones resting beside his alarm clock, slipping them around his neck.

After sliding a white, tube-shaped MP3 player attached to a white lanyard around his neck, Neku pulled on his white shorts which reached to his knees and threaded a black belt though the loops, connecting the buckle before letting go.

The belt sagged slightly, tight enough to keep his pants stable, but loose enough the buckle could be seen even under a shirt.

Neku dropped his black flip phone into one of the two large pockets the shorts sported, the tops of the pockets dyed purple with a pair of yellow buttons on either side of the stripes.

After snapping on his yellow sweatband around his left wrist, Neku exited his room and came into the short hallway that lead to the open floor kitchen and living room.

Standing at the stove was Shiki, his roommate and an old friend of the family; however, Neku had never met her until he had just entered high school.

Two years after the incident.

Shiki was a year older than Neku with short brown, almost black at certain angles, hair and brown eyes shielded by round glasses.

She wore black jeans with a beige skirt covered in white palm tree-like designs over them. Beneath her loose fitting green jacket was a black V-neck T-shirt; Neku could faintly see the silver hairclip Shiki usually wore on the left side of her head.

Shiki was described as mousy most of the time, but Neku had known her for long enough that he knew that was not true.

She and her long-time friend Eri worked as fashion designers and Shiki was also taking on photography.

Shiki was passionate about her job, sometimes self-doubting her work, but she never quit.

Neku knew she was good; Mr. Mew, the stuffed black cat doll she always carried around with her and insisted 'he' sit at the table, was a testament to that.

"Good morning, Shiki," Neku greeted casually, still standing at the entrance to the kitchen-living room combo.

"Oh, good morning-!" Shiki turned halfway around with a grin, but upon seeing Neku, she instantly whirled around, her back once again to Neku as a small squeak escaped her lips.

"N…Neku, please put on a shirt!" Shiki squawked, a hot blush covering her face and causing her glasses to fog up as she resisted the urge to snap pictures of the half-naked Neku.

Neku glanced down at his chest with a blank expression before he turned around and returned to his room.

Once she was certain Neku was gone, Shiki released a sigh, her entire body relaxing.

That was a first.

Neku had so many walls around his heart and himself that no matter what Shiki did she could never get him to lower his guard.

Neku coming in without being fully dressed was a chink in the armor.

It made Shiki feel better knowing that he at least trusted her enough to forget his shirt.

'_All the world needs is me.'_

'_Shut up, you're annoying.'_

'_Stop following me.'_

'_Friends only drag me down.'_

The first time they had met, Neku had said those things to her and several times after when Shiki refused to leave him alone.

Shiki had never really noticed when Neku had finally decided to give up and allow her to stay by his side with Eri occasionally joining them.

But they weren't friends.

They were far from friends.

Neku came back several minutes later wearing his sleeveless, high-collared purple-grey shirt that had the purple stripe, with the yellow border, going down the center.

"Better?" Neku asked, his mouth hidden by the collar; Shiki was surprised he still had his headphones around his neck instead of covering his ears.

After placing a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon for both her and Neku on the table, Shiki faced Neku and scanned him up and down, making a small 'hmm'-ing noise as she did so.

She then licked her fingers and waved Neku closer.

"Come here."

"What? No!" Neku put his hands to his hair protectively, knowing what Shiki's plan was.

"Just a little—"

"No!"

Shiki chuckled, holding her hands up defensively as she sat down at the table.

"Okay, okay."

Neku stared at Shiki warily before also sitting at the table, noticing with slight irritation that Mr. Mew was placed in the seat between them, silently sitting on the chair.

Neku's fingers itched to put his headphones up to cover his ears and immerse himself in music, but Shiki had a strict_ No Headphones at the Table _policy.

"So, you're going shopping with Eri today?"

Shiki started slightly at the question, obviously not expecting any sort of conversation.

"Yeah," Shiki nodded a bit, taking another bit of her eggs. "We're going to Pork City in Shibuya and maybe Spain Hill."

Downing a small glass of orange juice, Neku gave a grunt of affirmation.

"You want any clothes from there?"

Neku shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

"Neku…" Shiki fixed the orange-haired man with a challenging stare.

"Shiki," Neku returned the gaze coolly.

A few seconds later, Shiki glanced to the side with a defeated huff, resting her chin in her right hand.

"You never let me pick clothes for you," the brunette grumbled.

"Last time I allowed you to do that, I ended up wearing a silk T-shirt while you 'washed' my other clothes," Neku stood up, picking up his plate and glass, and dropped the dishes into the sink.

"But you looked so handsome in silk!"

Neku grimaced as he sat down near the front door and slipped on his shoes which mimicked his shirt and had four gold-colored buttons with white straps to replace shoelaces.

"What about Tigre Punks?"

"If you found some good ones, I'd consider it," Neku stood up, tapping his shoes against the ground to get them in a comfortable position, before he opened the front door. "I'll see you at four if there aren't any cases."

"Bye!" Shiki waved with a grin, Neku half-heartedly returning the gesture.

After the door clicked shut, Shiki sighed and idly stroked Mr. Mew's head.

"Oh, Mr. Mew, whatever shall we do with him?"

* * *

Neku and Shiki lived in a small apartment close to the government building in western Tokyo.

Shibuya and Shinjuku were practically a stone's throw away from where they lived, five to ten minutes by train and about fifteen by car.

The building where Neku worked was practically diagonal to the lofty government office and only took about ten minutes to reach by foot.

Upon entering, the building appeared to be like any other office with a receptionist desk where a pretty blonde woman who appeared to be in her early twenties sat answering any phone calls concerning new cases which would then be directed to Sanae; Neku knew, however, that the woman was well into her forties despite her youthful appearance.

Neku flashed his ID badge to the woman more out of habit than necessity, headphones already covering his ears to drown out the world's noise.

On entering the main room of the first floor, there were two desks each with the newest PC computers, a couch with a low coffee table in front of it positioned close to the entryway, and a hallway at the far end that branched off into smaller corridors which lead to the forensics room and morgue.

Behind one of the low walls situated at the rear of one desk were a set of stairs which lead to the second floor where the director's office was.

Neku wasn't surprised as he made his way to the couch, which he considered to be his desk and office, when an arm was slung around his shoulders and a bright voice said, "Morning, Phones!"

"Good morning, Mr. H," Neku replied without missing a beat, removing the man's arm from around his shoulders.

Hanekoma, or as many called him Mr. H, was the supervisor of Neku's squad though Neku took some of Hanekoma's duties upon himself.

Hanekoma stood four inches above Neku's five foot ten height and sometimes seemed wiser than his thirty years.

He had shaggy, short black hair swept up into small peaks, black eyes that were partially hidden by the sunglasses perched on his nose, and he had a habit of scratching at the stubble along his chin and cheeks or rubbing the back of his neck whenever he was thinking.

True to his word of being a 'hip café barista', Hanekoma wore black slacks, a white shirt unbuttoned slightly to reveal his collarbone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black sleeveless vest over the shirt, and black, open toe sandals.

"Here, I brought coffee," Hanekoma held out a cup of coffee, the watch on his left wrist glinting a bit.

Neku should have known better than to take the coffee from Hanekoma as the man had a habit of mixing new blends of coffee for his café WildKat in Shibuya and testing his new experiments on Neku.

The moment the coffee touched his tongue, Neku spat it back out and glared at the cup in disgust.

"What is this?!"

"Vanilla coffee," Hanekoma said innocently. "How was it?"

"It tastes like a cat pissed in it!"

"What? Give me that!"

Hanekoma snatched the coffee from Neku and took a sip of it only to do what Neku had done several seconds ago.

"Maybe I messed up on the recipe somehow?" Hanekoma rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at the coffee in confusion. "Maybe more vanilla extract?"

Neku abandoned Hanekoma to his musings, heading toward the vending machines in the tiny lounge adjacent to the office.

Standing in front of the machine, Neku looked at his choices before mentally picking one and lightly putting his foot against the bottom of the appliance, silently counting down from four as he moved his foot toward the bottom center of the machine.

Giving it a light kick, the can of chilled coffee dropped down and Neku retrieved his prize.

"You know you're stealing from the company by doing that."

As Neku opened the can, he glanced to his left to see Kariya leaning against the doorway, hands stuffed in the sleeveless black hoodie he wore and a stick of his favorite flavor lollipop—bean paste—sticking out of his mouth.

Kariya was two years older than Neku, standing an inch taller than Hanekoma even if he slouched most of the time, and was the coroner/medical examiner of the team.

With his orange hair, held up by four black x-shaped hair clips to make his hair appear flame-like, Kariya could have passed for Neku's older brother or even a cousin, especially with his lanky stature.

Along with the hoodie which had a white ribcage on the front, the sternum cut through partway as the zipper was pulled down slightly to reveal a white tank top beneath the jacket, Kariya wore brown jeans with a long chain with cross-shaped links hanging from his left pocket and white shoes.

Taking a drink of the coffee, Neku raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You going to tell someone?"

With a sigh, Kariya flicked at the stray strand of hair hanging down the left side of his face as he straightened, brown eyes staring at Neku impassively.

"Just thought you should know," Kariya drawled lifting his shoulders in a lazy shrug as he removed the sucker from his mouth with his right hand, using his other hand to push up the square, orange-tinted glasses on his nose. "You're showin' me your hand, boss."

"I'm not your boss," Neku muttered as Kariya strolled toward the vending machine and leaned beside the one containing the drinks.

Kariya didn't respond as he closed his eyes halfway, giving another shrug as an answer, and struck the front of the vending machine with his elbow.

Neku watched neutrally as Kariya leaned down to retrieve a Pepsi can.

"So where's Uzuki?" he asked as Kariya opened the can.

"Last I saw, trying to beat Rhyme at Go Fish," Kariya responded, taking a sip of the soft drink. "And losing horribly."

Uzuki was a member on Neku's team, a junior to his senior, and an old friend of Kariya's.

Uzuki's nickname was Pinky because of her short pink hair and the vibrant pink lipstick she always seemed to wear; saying the nickname to Uzuki, however, cause her to screech, "Leave my hair out of this!"

At Kariya's age and Neku's height, Uzuki wore white knee-high boots to make herself appear taller than she was, also wearing black shorts and a navy blue long-sleeved shirt cut up enough to expose her navel.

Rhyme was the youngest of the group, at only twenty, and three inches shorter than Neku.

She was the forensics analysist.

Her short blonde hair was hidden by the black beanie she constantly wore, a white skull pin attached to the side of the hat.

With a pale red, almost pink, long-sleeved shirt that had a black skull shaped like a heart and crossbones on the front, white shorts reaching to her knees with flaps on the front and back connected by two thin white strips, and yellow shoes with black toes, Uzuki commented on how Rhyme appeared to be a 'punk rocker'.

Apparently, Uzuki was trying to convince Rhyme to pierce her ears the same way she had them—a strip of metal attached near the earlobe of each ear.

Rhyme kept refusing, claiming that her piecing was the bell kept on a thin string around her neck.

"Rhyme is beating Uzuki at Go Fish," Neku repeated, just to make sure he had heard Kariya right.

Kariya nodded.

There was one thing with Rhyme; she was too cute for her own good and she used that to her advantage sometimes, especially around Uzuki who couldn't seem to get angry at the blonde.

However, no one could really get angry at Kariya whose calmness at every situation was irritating at times.

"How many games have they plated?"

Kariya slid his lollipop back into his mouth and held up his hand.

"How many has Uzuki won?"

Kariya held up a finger.

With a sigh, Neku tossed his empty can into the nearby trashcan.

"Better go stop them before there's bloodshed."

"Have fun," Kariya murmured as he watched Neku leave the lounge.

* * *

"Graah! Deal me in again!"

"All right," a voice chuckled.

"Get 'er, Rhyme! Show 'er who's the king of the jungle!"

Neku entered the forensic lab to see Uzuki and Rhyme sitting across from each other at a table, each one holding five cards in their hands.

Standing at the end of the table, cheering Rhyme on, was Rhyme's older brother by two years, Beat.

Beat's blond hair, like Rhyme's, was covered by a black beanie, but this one had a white skull embroidered on the front and was pulled low enough to touch Beat's eyebrows.

Mimicking more of a punk skater, Beat wore beige cargo shorts reaching to several inches above the red shoes, which had black markings and grey soles, he had on, a white tank top with a red one beneath it, and a black chain necklace with a skull hanging from the end around his neck.

With a black studded bracelet around his left wrist, Beat also had a chain hanging from his left pocket, a spear head-like pendant dangling from the bottom of the chain.

Rhyme glanced up when she heard Neku's approach and grinned, blue eyes bright.

"Neku! Good morning!"

Neku nodded in return as Uzuki's green eyes turned to him.

"Yo, Phones!" Beat said, loud and obnoxious as always, coming over and slapping Neku on the back. "We was beginning to think you wouldn't show!"

Before Neku could shrug the slightly muscular boy off him or tell him to go away, Kariya entered the room, looking disgruntled.

"All right, one of you here ate my donut and I know it ain't boss, Rhyme, or Uzuki."

Beat slowly removed himself from Neku as Kariya glared at him.

"I'll see ya later tonight, aight, Rhyme?"

"Bye, Beat!" Rhyme called as her brother cautiously edged around Kariya who kept his eyes locked on Beat's blue ones like a hawk.

Once he passed the doorway, Beat bolted with Kariya chasing after him.

"You owe me a strawberry jam donut, Daisukenojo Bito!"

"Bwaah! Don't say my name!"

Rhyme shook her head with a sigh before saying, "I win."

Uzuki gave a frustrated scream as she threw down her cards.

"That's so irritating!"

"You two should be working," Neku pointed out, fixing his gaze on the two women.

"There's no work, Neku!" Rhyme laughed as Uzuki shuffled the cards. "We haven't had a case in two weeks!"

"I'm leaving to see what Kariya is up to," Uzuki held up her hands as she stood up and departed from the room.

Neku turned and began to leave, aiming to relax on the couch until he could return to the apartment and resume looking for any scraps of information on the Reapers.

"Neku."

Neku paused and glanced back at Rhyme to see her staring at him with a small smile, a hand resting against her chest.

"We'll get a case soon. I know it."

Neku gave a faint smile and nodded before leaving.

* * *

Neku reclined on the couch in the main room, listening quietly to his music, one arm thrown over his eyes.

It was near two in the afternoon, and still no case, leaving just two more hours before Neku could return home and be considered on call if something happened.

"Neku."

Neku lifted his arm up slightly upon hearing his name, peering out from under it to see Hanekoma standing several feet away.

Sitting up with a sigh, Neku ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"I want you to meet someone."

Hanekoma moved to the side to reveal a lanky, fair-skinned boy Neku's age and height with scraggly ash-blond hair and lavender-colored eyes.

The boy wore a white button-down shirt that fairly exposed his neck, dark grey slacks, and white shoes with black laces.

"This is Yoshiya Kiryu, the newest member of our team."

"Everyone calls me Joshua," Joshua chuckled.

Neku deadpanned as he stood up, glaring at Joshua faintly, before he turned his attention to Hanekoma.

"Sanae, give me your wrist," he ordered.

"Why…?"

"Do it."

Sanae cautiously held out his wrist which Neku instantly grasped and yanked the part-time café owner off to the side, out of Joshua's earshot.

"A probie? Are you out of your mind, Sanae?"

"You scared off the last two," Hanekoma whispered.

"But another one? Uzuki is bad enough!"

"We need three members on the squad along with a supervisor! Besides, Joshua is an excellent marksman."

"So am I!"

"It doesn't matter, he's staying."

With a frustrated growl at the back of his throat, Neku rubbed two fingers against one of the spikes in his hair, Sanae taking the gesture as a sign of defeat.

"Play nice, hm?" Sanae placed a hand on Neku's shoulder before ambling toward his desk.

Neku glanced back at Joshua, noticing with slight irritation that the lavender-eyed boy was lounging on his couch, watching Neku with a grin as if he could sense the other man's distress at the news.

Upon seeing Neku's gaze, Joshua wiggled his fingers at the other in a wave.

Neku continued mentally strangling Joshua.

* * *

**End chapter 1 xD**

**So yeah everything will make sense as the chapters go on. :3 Pasts, who the Reapers are, etc.**

**Also fluffy stuff and drama and angst and all that good stuff xD**

**So, please enjoy.**

**And remember to Read and Review. :)**


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